If you had the opportunity to see lost loved ones for a short period of time, what would you do? Would you try to change their fate or overcome that initial grief and grow as an individual? If you think I’m talking about the premise of a series similar to Final Fantasy, you’d be wrong.
Instead, I’m referring to a series with a black hedgehog known for riding a motorcycle (which admittedly is pretty cool), using guns and having the personality of 90’s teenage tsundere (cold and distant but with heart underneath) phase.
Similar to Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a remastered version of the original Sonic Generations from 2011, featuring an all-new expansion revolving around Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s rival.
Specifically, Shadow Generations is a separate story that runs parallel to Sonic’s campaign, where he faces enemies of the past, struggles with his origins and confronts his own internal trauma with two prominent supporting figures in his life, Professor Gerald Robotnik and Maria.
I find Shadow the Hedgehog quite an interesting character. While Sonic is mostly lighthearted, Shadow is a more complex character, one who struggles with loss and misguided motivation. Despite that, he has his own charm, with both quips and cockiness that are distinct from the blue hedgehog.
However, after his debut in Sonic Adventure 2 (and Heroes to some extent), I’ve found that Shadow’s characterization has been all over the place. His own game, Shadow the Hedgehog, brought aliens into the mix and an over-the-top edgy personality that would stick with him to this day. Then, Sonic ’06 leaned completely into his closed-off persona, without any of his distinctly smug personality from the previous games.
Since then, I felt like Shadow the Hedgehog’s character developed lacked any sort of progression (at least in the mainline games). Similar to my feelings with Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Shadow’s character regressed to a shell of his original portrayal.
I also found that bled into his lack of voice direction in the most recent games. Kirk Thornton is a veteran voice actor (known for his roles in Naruto and Kingdom Hearts), yet his version of Shadow sounded unnatural, like Shadow took his “I’m the coolest” line to heart.
Now that Shadow has the spotlight thrust on him with the release of Sonic X Shadow Generations, though, does Sonic Team successfully rectify the issues I had with his character? Thankfully, I can wholeheartedly say yes.
The ultimate lifeform rises again
My initial worry about Shadow’s characterization in this game quickly dissipated with “Sonic X Shadow Dark Beginnings,” a supplemental animation that details events prior to the game. Not only did this animation have exceptional voice acting, but it showed Team Dark’s (Shadow, Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega) dynamic relationship.
As previously mentioned, Shadow’s series of events happen during the same time as Sonic Generations, where a mysterious being called the Time Eater transports Sonic and his friends to White Space, an area where time and space overlap.
Like Sonic, this leads to Shadow going to past and future levels in the franchise. It also means that the latter has to fight against a resurrected Black Doom (his co-creator) while balancing his own emotions after seeing both Professor Gerald and Maria again.
In Sonic Adventure 2, the space colony ark, Shadow’s birthplace, was invaded by GUN (the equivalent of the U.S. government), resulting in Maria’s death. After the invasion, Professor Gerald is arrested and later executed. This creates an interesting dynamic, where Shadow has to cope with the emotions of seeing Professor Gerald and Maria a second time despite initially moving forward from their deaths.
Since one main selling point for Shadow Generations is its story, I won’t spoil the events or how Shadow deals with the complexity of this situation. But I will say that without a doubt, Shadow Generations is the most emotional story told since Sonic Adventure 2.
Like Sonic Frontiers, Shadow Generations rewards fans with references to previous games, whether it’s Shadow detailing past events or throwing familiar remarks at Sonic. As someone who literally grew up with Shadow the Hedgehog over the years, the story constantly pulled my heartstrings whenever Maria was on screen. At the end, I teared up at the conclusion of his journey.
In my opinion, Shadow Generations provides proper closure to Shadow’s arc established in the prior games. Going forward, I hope Sonic Team continues to use the ultimate lifeform in future titles.
All hail Shadow
The base gameplay of Sonic X Shadow Generations uses the ‘boost’ formula, where players react to platforming challenges and obstacles at high speeds to the end of the stage. While both Shadow and Sonic are similar in gameplay, the former has different power-ups that change the way you tackle stages.
At the start, Shadow has access to Chaos Control, a power that not only allows you to stop time but utilize routes that are normally inaccessible. Other differences include the ability to double-jump and the gravity-defying homing attack, which is a lifesaver during these stages.
As you progress further in the story, Shadow acquires the ability to use ‘Doom Powers,’ which are wisp-like moves that change your traversal through levels. While there are five Doom Powers, the most prominent ones are Doom Surf, Doom Morph and Doom Wing.
Doom Surf allows Shadow to glide on water as if he’s riding on a surfboard. Since this move is triggered automatically, you’ll never have to worry about drowning underwater like a certain blue hedgehog.
Doom Morph turns Shadow into a demonic octopus, where you can effortlessly travel on purple goop and grapple using ‘morph balls.’ Control-wise, I had the most issues with this power-up, especially when there are certain challenges that require precise platform jumps over bottomless pits.
However, the best Doom Power by far is the Doom Wing. This acts like Shadow’s super form that activates once you have 50 rings, allowing him to glide over terrain while making invincible in the process. Using all of these power-ups is key to dealing with specific hazards and achieving a fast completion time.
Combining this with numerous alternate pathways and open-ended platforming challenges, Shadow Generations feels like an evolution to Sonic Generations, where it’s harder than the original stages without being overbearing. Once you get better at utilizing the Doom Powers, the stages themselves open up more for the player to find more optimal paths for a faster speed run. This also applies to the challenge gates (different mini-levels based on a specific stage) and boss fights, as both use the Doom Powers to create unique challenges.
The last biggest gameplay change compared to Sonic’s campaign revolves around Shadow’s version of the hubworld, White Space. While Sonic’s version is limited to a 2D plane, Shadow’s hubworld is inspired by Sonic Frontiers’ “open-zone gameplay,” offering a sandboxed 3D platforming challenges and additional collectibles. White Space as a concept is amazing and I’m glad that Sonic Team is continuing to experiment with its open-zone gameplay. My main issue is that Shadow’s controls aren’t suited to tight platforming sections, creating a reversal of the problems that I had with Sonic Frontiers’ cyberspace levels.
Overall, Shadow Generations offers a further progression to what its original established. The level design is the best it’s ever been, offering so many branching pathways without losing that sense of speed. The Doom Powers are also enjoyable, creating inventive ways for your speed runs. This is simply the boost formula at its best.
One step forward, two steps back
Speaking of the original, Sonic Generations was a game that left a huge impact on me. Whether it was sinking in countless hours for the fastest time on Rooftop Run or watching my favourite content creators play through the game, I endlessly consumed Sonic Generations during its release.
It’s also the game that I’d recommend for newcomers interested in trying out the series since it offers the best of both worlds along with a taste of Sonic’s history. But after playing through this remastered version, my nostalgia bubble popped.
For Sonic’s campaign, you play as both Classic and Modern Sonic, with the former emulating his Sega Genesis days while the latter uses the boost formula. Back in 2011, Classic Sonic was well-regarded because he finally gave players the tried-and-true 2D gameplay we clamoured for for so long. In a post-Sonic Mania and Sonic Superstars world, however, my issues with Classic Sonic’s control become more emphasized.
While this version of Classic Sonic has the drop dash (where he spin dashes after jumping) compared to the original Sonic Generations, he feels heavier and less reactive than what I remember. This is in spite of the skill upgrades that you can equip. I would’ve appreciated it if Classic Sonic controlled like he does in Sonic Superstars, which proved that the series can feel like the Genesis days despite being 2.5D.
Unfortunately, Modern Sonic also has his own problems that weren’t present in the original. For some reason, Modern Sonic also has the drop dash but this leads to either speeding off a cliff or iffy platforming. If you’re playing with legacy controls (which uses Sonic Generations original control scheme instead of Frontiers’ button layout) where the homing attack is on one button, this issue is further exacerbated.
Unlike with Classic Sonic, there is no option to turn off the drop dash, making platforming incredibly frustrating. This is disappointing because these concerns should be addressed, especially when these additions actively make the game worse. It also highlights the discrepancy between Shadow and Sonic’s respective campaigns.
While Shadow Generations feels like a natural evolution of the original Sonic Generations, this remaster takes one step forward but two steps back. It’s a shame because there are many positives, including the overhauled script, new collectables, enhanced visuals and a consistent 60 frames per second during gameplay (barring cutscenes that I’m sure will be patched).
Never look back
Despite the gameplay issues with the remastered Sonic Generations portion, I can’t help but recommend this package enough just for Shadow Generations. It’s the main selling point for a good reason.
Shadow Generations shows that despite its past stumbles, Sonic Team can deliver a fresh experience with one of the best depictions of Shadow the Hedgehog to date.
Sonic X Shadow Generations releases on October 28th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Image credit: Sega
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